This article gives a brief on the abolishment of the concept of triple talaq in Muslim Law. This is a welcome and progressive step for Muslim women, and women rights in general, as husbands now cannot arbitrarily divorce their wives on short notice. The judgement is also a step towards achieving UCC in India by doing away with personal laws.
Wed Jun 22 2022 | Family Law | Comments (0)
In the words of Prophet Mohammad, “Of all the lawful things, divorce is the most hated by Allah.” Therefore, Triple Talaq, i.e. instantaneous divorce, has no implicit or explicit mention in the holy Quran, yet it had most definitely found a permanent shelter among the Indian Muslims until now.
Triple talaq was a prevalent Islamic tradition, where a Muslim man could simply divorce his wife by declaring the word "talaq" three times. This practice which is clearly unconstitutional and derogatory towards women, forcing them into poverty and to live in society as an outcast, was quite frequently followed by the Hanafi Islamic School of Law, which is quite a popular part of the Indian Muslim community. As a result of this opaque law, Muslim women/ lawyers/ activists had time and again highlighted the abuse of instant divorce by Muslim husbands as a fair and just reason to completely abolish it. In fact, multiple cases of husbands divorcing their wives simply via calls and text messages had also come into the limelight.
Therefore, to accomplish gender equality and India’s quest towards achieving a Uniform Civil Code, on 30th July 2019, after the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019 got a thumbs up from the Cabinet, it abolished the practice which violates their (Muslim women) rights and further criminalises the practice of Triple Talaq after it was abolished from usage and termed unconstitutional by the Indian Apex Court on 28th December 2017. However, the only flaw visible, at the moment, according to the Indian Muslim community is that even though the practice of triple talaq is barbaric and violative of women rights there was no need to criminalise the civil practice which has already been abolished by the Indian Apex Court.
Under Section- 3 any declaration of talaq by an Indian Muslim husband upon his wife, by words, either spoken or written or in electronic form or in any other manner whatsoever, shall be void and illegal.
Under Section- 4, any Muslim husband who pronounces talaq referred to in Section- 3 upon his wife shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 3 years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Under Section- 5, without undermining the generality of the provisions mentioned in any other law for the time being in force, a married Muslim woman upon whom talaq is declared shall be entitled to receive an amount of maintenance allowance from her husband, for her and their dependent children, as may be determined by the Judge.
Under Section- 6, a married Indian Muslim woman shall be given custody of her minor children in the event of declaration of talaq by her husband, in such manner as may be determined by the Judge.
Under Section- 7, in spite of anything mentioned in the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC),
Finally, in addition to the various provisions of the new law mentioned above which protects the self-esteem as well as the social status of the Muslim women, the latest Bill not only promotes gender equality and justice but also encourages secularism and democracy in the most populous democracy of the world by making the practice of instant triple talaq completely void and illegal thereby protecting the rights of the married Muslim women in India which has already been banned by numerous other countries including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan etc.
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